Coming Home
by MasterMartin
Summary: The past and present collide (again) in Alternate Sonic Universe 112233C. Sonic The Hedgehog and his half-carer Lowell, along with their girlfriends, venture into the forgotten castle of Knight Island, finding the agonized souls of yesteryear and feeling the consequences of their family pasts... Timelines range from 1922 to 2013. Features fan charaters, pairings and crossdressing.
1. Chapter 1: The Waters Of Darkness

"Mr Highcastle...are you afraid of god?"

"No. Our god is Master, and he is harmless...but I'm afraid of you."

**KNIGHT ISLAND **

**Off the coast of The United States **

**October 23rd, 1922 7:32PM **

**Mr. William Needlemouse**

"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" came the first of the voices, a young one, filled with joy, wonder and an overpowering sense of boredom.

"Not yet, little one..." another voice said, older and yet still young, but weary and low pitched, laced with a British accent and a tire of the daily life events, "But we're close. So very close..."

There was a gurgle and a groan as light, or what little of it, flooded the man's eyes. William slowly arched his neck upwards to the same sight as he had seen a long time before. He was on a boat in the middle of nowhere, nothing but wild, dark blue waters in every direction. The winds were strong and the waves fierce, rocking the boat all over the place and keeping William focused on his balance. Ahead of him were three people, all hedgehogs just like him. One was old, around the same age as William, which was around 24. He had dark fur, causing him to blend almost seamlessly against the darkly lit night that over-shadowed the sea surrounding them, with a sort of "skunk stripe", following along his eyes, from his brow to the top quill, which contemplated his purple eyes and rather dark, but still light skin. He was wearing a yellow raincoat and matching hat, but William could see he was wearing a waistcoat under that, with a white shirt and black tie, along with his pinstripe trousers and monocle.

Next to him was another male, younger and smaller than the other, around 15 or so. He was a very dark brown in colour, the darkness surrounding his eyes (along with sitting with his back to William) and masking his eye colour, instead showing off his quills, which were short, bushy and rather badly kept. He was dressed much more strangly, with some sort of strange cloth jacket with metal teeth and trousers with many pockets and metal buttons, made of a rather strange material. He wore woolen gloves that had the fingers cut to the middle and metal glasses that shone a radient blue, even in this environment. Beside him was a small child, which William had recognized as his own son. He was a radient blue, just like his father, with a coil of brown "hair" across his eyes, acting as a fringe. His own eyes were an even lighter blue, almost aqua, and he was wearing a small waistcoat and matching suit, as was comman for such a grand party.

The younger and older males were both working at the oars of the boat, rowing slowly but strongly, pushing the water aside with great strides and sending jets of water along and across the sides of the boat, a touch of white to the otherwise dark setting. The child was just tugging at the younger's woolen jacket, as if demanding something.

"So, this Rose woman..." the older male spoke up from the gloom, his voice thick and wallowed in the middle class, "What makes one say she has much importence to you. Is she your girlfriend or something?"

The older one chuckled at his joke. The younger still had his face away from William, but the strain and the low volune of his voice made it clear he was weary and tired, but stuggeling to stay awake for something that seemed importent.

"No..." he sighed, "It's just...unfortunate that some of my test subjects decide to make a break for it, that's all. Me and someone else have been sent to this rightly marvelous party and...retrive her. A Mr. William Needlemouse, I think."

"And..." William spoke out, his voice normal, but otherwise timid, "And that'll be me...right?"

"Indeed, he seems the right man for the job," the older spoke again, all three seeming to ignore William, "I've went through some of his old case files. Ex-Freemason, before someone turned him away, worked as a private detective. Only one child, and that'll be young Jules here..."

The younger stared at the child that still tugged at his jacket, but never-the-less continiued his indefaticle rowing, "Yes...good kid'll go far. His...eyesight needs attending to, however."

"Oh yes, don't want to make him LOSE it or anything..." the older continued chuckling, "It would cause something horrible no doubt...he might become half machine or something!"

"Heh heh...yeah, don't press your luck..."

The younger reached under his seat and pulled out a wooden box, with brass engraving and corners with metallic screws. He gave this to Jules, who then gave this to William. The box's engraving read "MR WILLIAM NEEDLEMOUSE. Bring me the girl ALIVE". William opened the box and slowly inspected the contents. There wasn't much, just a picture of the girl and her profile:

AMELIA ROSEANE AGE 17 FEMALE HEDGEHOG GREEN EYES, PINK FUR ANSWERS TO SONIC

William smiled to himself. Sonic sounded like a very good name to him. Another thing inside the box was a key, fairly standard, but with the initials AR along the edge. The last thing was a pistol, a Browning M1922, as was standard for the time. William wasn't the biggest fan of guns, but it was only needed if Amy decided to fight back. William cocked the slide of the gun and put it in his sholder holster, saftey on, with a wide grin on his face, "Nice..."

"So, this William..." the older continued, "Does he hold any significance to you? Why pick him?"

"You make him sound like your typical meathead," the younger sighed once more, "No. He is...special to my cause. It's probably best you don't know."

"Yes, but what makes him so different?" Older asked, brow raised in question.

"Because he doesn't row," Younger shrugged back.

"He doesn't ROW?"

"No...he DOESN'T row..."

"Oh..." Older mused, "I see what you mean...kinda..."

The younger looked up to the background behind him. In the distance, getting bigger and more brightly lit with every passing second, was a castle, huge and majestic, covered top to bottom in deleicate engravings and candlelit windows. The being chuckled in satisfaction, "We've arrived."

"Finally!" Jules chirped in, turning to William, "We're here dad! Isn't it wonderful?"

The boat soon pulled up to the dock and wedged itself firmly in the mold. The owner of the castle, a Mrs Eliza Prower, had designed new-fangled mechanics designed to ease the course of life. The mold was so the boat wouldn't need attaching to the dock, which saved rope and rot. The younger was the first to climb out, straining in effort as he dragged his wrecked body onto the soggy wood. He reached down and pulled Jules up next, who emitted an outburst of joy at this action. The older climbed out next, showing no strain or no effort, leaving William the last to leave. As he climbed out, he could see a vast array of cogs that held the infernal contraption working, knowing that if single one of them went wrong, the entire thing would fail. The logistics of the entire thing made his brain ache. 1920's tech wasn't exactly space age.

The three hobbled up the long, winding stone staircase towards the castle doors. The doors were three times the height of William and twice as wide. They were a very polished walnut brown with big brass handles and doorknobs. A majecticly engraved bell sat near the side, once more hooked to a mass of bits and bobs so it could work. The Prower Family, Charles and Eliza, were complete geniuses and were quite happy about it too. They had designed many advanced mechanisms and contraptions way ahead of their time and had made a rather large fortune selling it to the government for private and public use (though the actual public never got to use it. Obviously). They bought the castle on an island just off the coast of America, Knight Island. There they speant their days inventing new and perfecting old, to keep their money coming in. They used the money on regal and sophisticated parties that everyone wanted to attend, often unvieling new machines in the process. William was beaming with delight on the inside at the mere thought of attending this kind of party, but he was nevertheless a man on a mission to find a young girl who had fallen into strange hands.

Strange really. Like that man who went to that flying city ten years previous. The older man was somewhat...familiar.

William suddenly jumped with shock at the thought of the man before him, "Oh! Almost forgot! I never got your name, Mister..."

"Me? My name's Dewitt Highcastle," the older stretched out his hand to shake William's, "Nice to be assissting you on this adventure."

"And you?" Jules poked at the younger.

"Me? Hmmm..." the younger paused over his words with caution and skepticism, "Just call me Master. Everyone else does."

Master and Dewitt Highcastle. Very strange names, William was thinking to himself. However, such odd names would become entwined in his memory for a long time soon.

After the nightmare this "adventure" would bring to him.

**KNIGHT ISLAND-ABANDONED**

**Off the coast of Mobius Alpha **

**July 5th 2013, 2:12PM **

**Oliver Maruice "Sonic The Hedgehog" Needlemouse and Lowell Theo Highcastle II**

"The things we take from Miley, huh?" Lowell joked as he kicked the fragile wooden door, "And to think I never think this place even existed.

Sonic shyly sighed to himself. Lowell had only just learned of this place's existence, but Sonic and his family had know about it for time inmemoriable. It was said to be so majestic so long ago, but a mysterious accident had caused the place to enter a new state of mystery, no two rumors being alike. The castle was shut down finally entering the 1940's and had thus been abandoned for 73 years. The engravings, while still present were almost completly illegible and faded from the cruel concept of time, the once amazing art now nothing more but vaugly interesting shapes and shadows of a previous world. The insides were coated with dust and darkness, damp and cobweb-flooded. A place that shrieked the themes of horror and possession...and, unfortuently, it was the place Sonic and his friend would be spending the next month.

This is because while the place was completly empty, the castle was said to be, in one of it's many rumors, to have once been the property of the the Prower family, whom which Sonic's best friend Miley was of. It was said they were of great technological importence to the government and thus they were dead rich via selling their tech to the world, but the accident, whatever it involved, screwed up their reputation and forced them to flee the castle and go low-profile, until Miley came along and improved her family name once more. Unfortuently, that's all it was; just another rumor. There wasn't even a deed inside the house, at least at the time of inspection. All Sonic and Lowell had to do was find this will and they'll be able to help Miley reclaim her fortune. That, or live there for at least a month. Sonic thought this was the easier and more likely to succeed plan. Lowell didn't even know of it's existence. Luckily, Sonic had managed to hide luggage and their girlfriends aboard the boat before setting off.

"Uh...yeah," Sonic said awkwardly, trying to find a subtle way to mention such plan, "I suppose. It's a mystery to many, isn't it?"

"I thought it was a secret to everybody, but I'll take that too," Lowell shrugged, "Not too bothered about that. Besides, we shouldn't be here long. All we need to do is find that deed and we SHOULD be free...right?"

Sonic sighed heavily. It was now or never, Sonic thought, and while he certainly didn't want to do it, it HAD to be done. He slowly inched over to the boat that had dragged the four onto this island and pulled the luggage free from it's hiding place. Sonic's face spoke a thousand words, mainly fear at his compadre's reaction as well as a little confidence at doing the thing, considering the traumatic event that had caused his radical change in personality so many years ago. Lowell's own face twisted into the same grimace it normally took hold of, a mix of confusion and anger.

"Sonic..." Lowell asked, puzzled, "Why have you got four suitcases?"

Sonic said nothing and simply shuffled backwards, awaiting the inevitable coming in the form of a bellowing scream from Lowell's unusual lungs. Instead, Lowell was hobbeling around the orange suitcase, opening it's lid with a patterend zipping sound and inspecting his contents. His grimace turned to an even more puzzled frown as he inspected the contents. A couple of extra capes of varying colours and pocket amounts, specially made toothpaste designed for fangs, a red cloth blanket that was extra soft to the touch and an old record by Sully Mcgrenzy, mainly his hit single "My Best Friend Is My Colon"...the switch finally flicked in his head. He threw his gaze at the blue hedgehog before him, who had managed to stand up straight for once.

"SONIC..." Lowell said once more, a bigger hint of anger in his voice, "This is all MY stuff! Why?"

"Because..." Sonic said timidly, "Because I said that...well...the political state of Mobius Alpha has gone to the red abyss, you know that. The new government says that squatters living in forgotten homes can own it after a month of living in it. That, and we need to do this because we ended up with that bet from Shadow. And we haven't got 1'000'000 Rings. And I'd also like to hang on to my knees if that's alright to you..."

Lowell's eyes shrunk to bead-like proportions for a few seconds as the shock of Sonic's words brushed against his mind.

"A...a...A MONTH?!" Lowell shrieked in his mix of shock and anger.

"Yeah, but it was the only way to do so..." Sonic tried to calm the angered wolf down, albiet to no avail.

"A BLOODY MONTH?!"

"Well, it ain't MY fault!" Sonic said quickly, getting defensive, "It was you, after all, that got hammered and tempted Shadow to fire an arrow at his own skull via Chaos Portals. After that, he had us over the sharks. Besides, I don't see why YOU'RE complaining. I've only got enough underwear for tonight!"

"Well THAT'S because you only wear it as Soma!" Lowell was still riled up, but had become remarkebly calm in such a short space of time, "That's all you've EVER had!"

"...True..." Sonic regained his composure, "Now look, we're stuck with it. Trust me, I'm a master of speed. It'll fly past in no time at all. After all, remember when you were born and then a month old? The time flew past."

Lowell's annoyed mind stood him up and replyed, "It passed because you had two breasts big as your head at beck and call day and night! Give me that now and I wouldn't be complaining!"

"Well..." Sonic kicked the floor with a smug look on his face, "I can give you something similar," he edged his way towards the second suitcase, a dark grey with purple highlights, "You see, I came prepared. Just in case you decided to ventilate me in anger..."

Lowell's confused head tilting to the left like a robot powering down gave Sonic the signal he had to show him exactly what he meant. He unclipped the suitcase and opened it with a large creak and a sudden WHOOSH as someone burst out of the bag. It was a female hedgehog, black in fur colour with delicate purple highlights on her fringe and quills. She wore a light grey t-shirt with a black cloth jacket and trousers with a skirt oddly wrapped around her belt, ending in white boots with red bands. The woman sat up in the case, clutching her chest and taking deep, heavy breaths.

"Darn you, Sonic!" she gasped inbetween the stinging breaths, "I haven't had a worse trip to nowhere since I ended up on the DeviantArt Fetish Train!"

"Sonic, let me get this straight..." Lowell facepalmed, "You locked Kathrine...MY girlfriend...in a suitcase and brought her over here..."

"Yeah!" Sonic said happily, giving a thumbs up, "And Frost is in the other suitcase. I thought it was a good idea..."

Lowell's face scrunched up into that grimace. He slowly walked up to the beaming hedgehog and stared at him in the face for quite some time. With a sudden burst of speed, he whisked his custom revovler out of his holster and jabbed it firmly to Sonic's forehead, who let out a sudden high pitched scream at this.

"Give me yet another reason to blow your head off," Lowell growled threatingly, "Come on..."

"Wait..." Sonic started inching backwards and cowering, "Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAITWAITWAITWAIT NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

As Sonic's back slammed against the castle walls, there was a huge roar that shook the very confines of the island to it's core, a monsterous and low growl spreading throughout the air. The door glowed with a strange purple haze, casuing all three people to ignore the whole "ventilation" thing and stare at it. The doors swung open on their own terms with deafeing creaks, showcasing a large, long hall. Lowell slipped the revolver back into it's holster and ran towards the hall. He dragged his bare finger along the nearest well and stared at. Something had felt wrong to him, and his check had confirmed this to him.

"No dust..." Lowell said, "And no cobwebs. This place looks like it was never abandoned, at least on the inside..."

"Didn't Miley said this place was left barren for 73 years?" Kathrine asked.

"Yes..." Sonic said with wonder in his voice, "Perhaps someone already owns this place? Perhaps we'll have our work cut out? We should explore just to be certain. Let's go!"

Sonic clicked his heels together and sped off in his usual way towards the doorway, wooping all the way. Lowell suddenly pointed to the fourth, unopened suitcase, yelling "Unlock Frost first!"

Sonic suddenly skidded to a stop, "Unlock Frost first, right..." and walked back towards the suitcase.

Lowell sighed and reached into one of the many pockets on his yellow cape, rummaging around and finally pulling out a large bottle of whiskey. He opened the bottle and took a large swig before turning to Kathrine.

"Looks like we're in for a long one here..."


	2. Chapter 2: The Start Of Confusion

**PROWER'S CASTLE - Main Entrance Knight Island **

**United States coast **

**October 23rd 1922 7:34PM **

**William Needlemouse, Jules Needlemouse, Dewitt Highcastle, "Master"**

"Well, now we've all gotten to know each other's frankly insane names," Master sighed, "Now we better get on with the entire she-bang-she-bang, get what I'm saying?"

"...Not really," Dewitt mumbled in response.

"...Oh right, you haven't invented that phrase. Sorry," Master sighed once more. He slowly walked towards the walnut doors and rapped polietly on the front of the door. This didn't seem to actually work, so he stared at the door for a minute and a half, before kicking hard on the door. This...didn't really work harder, so he started wildly bashing on the door with both firsts, ramming the door and otherwise attacking it. After he finally wore itself out, he just went limp and rested against the door, panting and breathless. By now, the rain had been falling like a meteor shower, leaving everyone else behind Master completly soaked.

"...Nice," William snarked, "Now can we go in?"

Dewitt pushed Master out of the way and pressed a nearby button button that Master had failed to see. There was a clicking sound as the many gears that lined the wall shifted and rotated as a small striker above the four struck a bell loudly. This sent the usual loud ringing noise around the thin air, surprisingly loud given the large area it was struck with. None of the four were seemingly affected by it, except Master's slight eye twitch, but nothing more. There was a loud creak as the door finally opened, sending bright, yellow, candle light and soft violin music flooding into their soaked senses, creating a sense of warmth that washed over them in blissful joy. In the doorside was an adult female fox. Such fox had bright orange fur that had seemingly been fluffed up somewhat for the event, with a few streams of fur the slid down her face and curtained her pristine light blue eyes and an adorable little fang in her mouth. She wore glasses and a bright red shirt that only covered her arms to the middle of the uppers. Her trousers, uncommon for common femaleswear of the 1920's, was made of a strange material that was rough to the touch and not very flexible, with her shoes being made of what looked like leather, but coloured as white as snow with bright red lines along the soles. Her main defining feature, however, was her two fox tails that swayed free and lightly, waving the very air around them into something sweet smelling, directing the smells of the nearby food to the noses of those outside in the pouring rain.

"Hello!" the fox chirped, "So nice to see you!"

"I suppose you're now the owner of this fair castle, Eliza?" William said, approaching the fox with wonder, "I've never seen anything like your outfit before..."

"Yep!" the fox winked, "Mrs. Eliza Prower here, service wonder extraordinare! My outfit is all thanks to the man of cloth jackets."

"In other words, me," Master said, for once sounding somewhat happy with a light tone of voice, "Eliza Prower. So nice to see you once more. My my, you're getting more radiant and stunning as the visits pile on."

"Oh stop it!" Eliza giggled, "I'm MARRIED, remember?"

"So you and your husband've been giving the Government all this new-fangled tech, eh?" Dewitt approached her next, "I know one thing for sure; you've got quite a lot of electricity. Only the richest and biggest in this world have that kind of luxury. How do you do it? What's your secret?"

"Oh, THAT'S for later..." Eliza lightly brushed Dewitt's chin in a flirty manner, "Perhaps we'll finally reveal what's exactly happpened here. I know YOU'RE here for a female..."

"Yes," William spoke up, "A Mrs Amela Roseanne. Do you know her?"

"Not exactly..." Eliza shrugged, "I've never seen her in my life. But someone similar...might've. Might've. Well, no use standing out here in this awful rain. Come on in. And feel free to have some of the sweets on the side."

Eliza quickly turned and wandered down the hallway towards the dining room. The four finally stepped in and added their coats to the nearby rack. William could now properly see Dewitt's wasitcoat and Master's now uncanny clothes. He could also see himself in a mirror lined with gold and jewels, shining brightly and showcasing his own blue fur with browning quills. His own blue eyes complemented his fur, along with his own white shirt and waistcoat. His, however, was also covered by a jacket, completing a very dapper suit that he was wearing specially for this event. What was noticable was his shoes, a family heirloom, that were a deep red with white shoe straps and brass buckles, as well as his gloves, which were white with circle cufflinks and red bands. Very dapper, very smart.

As William reached for the red sweet, he could feel some new thought take form in his thought-addled brain. The ideas came as thick and fast as the strong strawberry taste from the sweet (and no less embittering), recoiling back to that Master guy. Now that he had a chance to get cozy with one of his friends, he could see certain patterns emerging. The cloth jackets, the trousers of strange, but yet different material, the t-shirts, the banter between them. Something felt off. SOMETHING felt strange, as if they were connected somehow. The thought continued to gnaw at the back of his head as he struggled to come up with some sort of explenation for everything he was seeing and hearing.

Master had finished his green lime-flavoured sweet when he noticed William staring at the guy, staring with an odd look in his eye, "What?" he eventually asked in a somewhat annoyed tone.

"There's something strange about you," William said inquizitivly, "You and that Eliza person. I know Eliza. She was the exact same as any other 1920's woman before you came along. I don't get it. What did you do to her? Just who ARE you?"

Master simply smiled, "I am the keeper of dreams and nightmares. And we'll see YOUR'S come true tonight..."

**PROWER CASTLE - Dining Hall **

**Off the coast of Mobius Alpha **

**July 5th 2013, 2:12PM **

**Oliver Maruice "Sonic The Hedgehog" Needlemouse, Lowell Theo Highcastle II, Kathrine Lowhouse and Blaze "Frost" Cattington**

There was another click and a snick as the last, purple suitcase opened up slowly with a small creak. Unlike Kathrine, who had sprung out in a panic, the dark purple cat inside rose gracefully out of the case, eyes closed in bliss and smiling with a tiny mouth. She yawned, opening her now normal mouth, lined with fangs and a few red splotches, and stretched her arms, encased in a somewhat tight fitting latex bodysuit. The sun shone upon the bodysuit giving bright glares around the area, the suit being covered in a red T-shirt and demin shorts. The orb upon her head that often gave the Blazes of the Multiverse their powers was now a very solid blue that still had it's perma-shine upon it's corner. Her hair band was a similar blue, holding the ponytail that split into a three blader, showing new black tips that looked like werehog quill tips. Her "hair" was also tipped in this way, folded lower than the usual hair seen on any Blaze. And as she clambered out of the suitcase, it could be seen her legs ended in brown ;eather boots that had cowboy spurs and a leather band around the top with a special emblem on the sides.

"Ah, that was a nice sleep!" she growled, finishing her stretch and reaching for the pair of dark metal glasses also in the suitcase, "In fact, I think that was one of the most blissful sleeping sessions I've ever had!"

"...You LIKED being locked in that for three hours, Frost?" Kathrine asked, exhaustedly reaching for Lowell's whiskey bottle.

"Of course," Frost replied, pushing the metal bars back into her ears, "If you get a...liking...by having magic boob jobs, you might as well go all the way."

Kathrine shrugged, "Can't argue with that logic."

"So..." Frost approached Sonic and assumed her normal pose of hands on hips and left leg bent to assume a leaning pose, "Where've you taken us for this?"

"Knight Island. Used to belong to Miley's parents, or so I'm told," Sonic said, waving his hand in the direction of the castle, "A place of majestic tech and marvelous company, until an accident caused them to flee and abandon this place."

"Or so we thought..." Lowell said too, his deep British accent ringing in Frost's sensitive ears, "But we looked at the main hall alone and it seems to be brand new and dust free. As if someone...never left."

"Sounds tacky," Frost said in her usual perky way.

"Kathrine, you studied this place for your temp job as a sub teacher, right?" Lowell asked his girlfriend, "Find anything strange?"

"No..." Kathrine said, "I studied the damn thing for three days, with a telescope. I never saw anyone come and go inside and I didn't see anything about it that looked like new work done on it. The records don't say anything about renewal either..."

"So...something or someONE has lived here under no watch..." Lowell said, confused, "But who?"

"This should be interesting..." Sonic said smugly, walking quickly down the large, long hall before them. The walls and the ceilings were delicatly engraved with strange swirls and various symbols that no-one could really dechipher. The pillars and supports were made of the finest marble and gold, showing a painting of what looked like a bunch of foxes with only one tail being led by a female fox with two tails holding what looked like a tablet device.

"That...doesn't make any sense either," Lowell looked up at this strange mural depicting the futureistic device before them that he himself had in one of the many pockets littering his wavering cape, "That sort of tech has only been made affordable to comman man. Well, humans, anyway."

"Something's wrong here..." Frost said, shuddering slightly.

"Relax, it's nothing to worry about," Sonic said reassuringly, patting Frost on her head, which made her giggle, "Miley told me everything. Her parents made all the tech before us modernists got anywhere near the draft stages. Never did tell me HOW they did so, however."

"Probably has something to do with Master," Lowell mumbled, "He's been getting into the habit of escaping to the past as an ambassedor for this present. After all, everyone else is too busy complaining about Sonic's eye colour."

"Don't remind me," Sonic growled.

"Why's Master doing this?" Kathrine asked.

"He's gotten sick of the modern world, obviously. I don't blame him," Lowell sighed. There was a sudden change in his thoughts as a small smell made it's way to his nose. It was the most delectable smell he had ever had the fortune to encounter. His limp form, hypnotized by the smell of freshly baked pastries and meats of various animals, began to walk slowly towards a door that was smaller, with simple wooden patterns. Inside was a large kitchen, which was rather...kitchen-y, complete with the latest in stoves and cookers, using Prower-branded Microwaves and other such high tech. On the tables was a few plates, each containing the food the smells had come from, a delicious pallete of pastries and cured and spiced meats of the various creatures-crocodile, dog, beef, bacon, squid, octopus...the selection was astounding, with a noteable plate containing the meats in a long bun like a hotdog bun. Next to the plates were four different drinks; one green plastic bottle full of citric liquid, one full of tea, another full of strong coffee and the last containing a mixture of the three.

"The hell?" Sonic asked, "All this stuff is present day food and drink and it's ALL still in date! They even have Chilli Dogs! AND Generic Carbonated Beverage!"

"I love Generic Carbonated Beverage!" Lowell said back, "This makes no sense! NONE of this is!"

"And no-one's lived here for months!"

"Then there's only one explanation..." Frost said, her voice suddenly solom and serious, "And that is...there's a GHOST in this house!"

"That is insane!" Lowell said, paniking slightly, "Ghosts do NOT exist. Never have. Ever..."

"Apart from the ghost I found during my angsty Werehog days?" Sonic challenged, crossing his arms. Lowell remained silent and verbally defeated, so Sonic continued, "That's what I thought. It ain't MY fault you're scared of ghosts. And Frost is right, only that really explain all the recent food and lack of dust. Someone has been waiting for someone. Waiting to...exist again..."

There was an intense rumbling around the room as a sort of lightly coloured mist began flying around the room, a massive wind whipping up the small amount of dust that WAS in the area into a tornado around the area. Sonic and Frost were still standing at the table with braze, yet cocky faces on, while Lowell's once stoic face had twisted into a fearful expression, teeth clenched, while having fallen to the floor and holding tightly onto the waist of Kathrine, who was sort of just...standing there.

"Hello?" Kathrine called out over the noise, "Mr OR Mrs Ghost? Who's there?"

A high-pitched giggling rumbled through the room, making Lowell recoil even further into fear and hug Kathrine tighter.

"Oh goody..." came a high-pitched and perky female voice that echoed around the room with an eerie familar voice, "They've come! The ancestors have come! They have come to help free me! Yay!"

"Free you?" Kathrine asked, "What d'ya mean?"

"Your ANCESTORS!" The voice took on a tone of anger, shaking the floor even harder and bellowing even stronger, making Lowell squeeze Kathrine like a Victorian corset, "They KILLED ME! I've been stuck here for you for YEARS..." her voice went back to the sweet tone, "Hehehe, forgive me. I get a bit trigger-y in my senile age. Anyway, feel free to the food before you all, you are welcome. Just please...help me..."

The wind and mist vanished into the walls and corners, the dust falling to the floor with a shifting sound like hundreds of little ghost particles pattering to the floor. Sonic approached the chili dog and took a massive bite out of it grinning, "See? I told you this would be an interesting month. Free, modern, non-rotten food, good accomodation, a good Ghost Host AND a smatter of ADVENTURE! Woo!"

"AND we need to find out why we need to 'free' this ghost," Frost reminded him, "That should be interesting. Perhaps we'll go back in time and stop it ever happening? Or exact revenge on those responsible!"

"Uh...Lowell?" Kathrine poked Lowell's head, "Can you stop crushing my waist. It's small enough for the fashion gurus, thanks..." Lowell's shuddering form nodded slowly and let go of her waist, standing up and brushing off his furry chest. Kathrine giggled and hugged Lowell, stroaking her chest, "You're cute when you're scared," she giggled playfully.

"I'm...I'm not scared!" Lowell defended, stuttering slightly, "I just...d-don't like Ghosts much..." he cleared his throat, sounding stoic once more, "Right, so we're stuck in a haunted castle that used to belong to Miley's parents for a month, chock full of mystery and anacronistic tech, with a ghost we have to somehow free by possessing one of us and killing the others in horrible ways with final creepy faces before we die. Oh, and adventure. I suppose it'll keep _me_ on my toes..." he approached Sonic while grabbing the plastic bottle, "Sonic, I just want to say. I want you to remind me about something."

"What?" Sonic asked, smiling.

"Remind me to kill you when we finally get home."

Sonic gulped somewhat fearfully.

"Duly noted."

**(I have the feeling this Chapter isn't as good as the first. Darn.)**


	3. Chapter 3: Tears

**Prower's Castle-Dining Hall **

**Knight Island, American coast **

**OCTOBER 23RD 1922 7:34PM **

**Mr. William Needlemouse, Dewitt Highcastle, Jules Needlemouse and "Master"**

"I don't know, Charlie..." William sighed, watching with head in hand as Master, Jules and Dewitt padded down the hallway before him, "There's something wrong about him..."

"Relax, Will," Charles said, strutting alongside William, "I've met the guy before. He DOES seems to be the kind of guy us people would avoid, but...well, he knows his stuff." Charles Prower was the husband of Eliza Prower (hopefully you could've guessed that by now) and he too was of a light yellow colour in fur, though his fur was dirtier than Eliza's by a considerable margin. Unlike his wife, he was wearing period correct clothing, a white shirt with pinstriped trousers and jacket, a red tie lodged in his coller. He wore glasses with round, thick rims and had what looked like a cog around his ear. Most noteably, however, was his left arm. He had lost it when first working on the machines and creations he and his wife were now famed for, and now his arm was a mass of endlessly clicking brass cogs of various sizes and speeds. The fingers were a bright silver, the fingertips electroplated gold from unknown ways, almost like a fingerless glove.

"I suppose," William said, sighing, "But what exactly can I do? What is this stuff he knows?"

"I'll give a clue," Charles said, nudging his friend with his mechanical, leather covered elbow, "All will be explained at tonight's meeting party. The ultimate in futuristic tech!"

William looked blank, "The heck do you mean?"

Charles smiled smugly and rested his hand on the door the two had finally gotten to, "You're about to find out..."

Once more, the door creaked open on it's rusted hinges and saw the two in. William was quickly basked in the lovely glow of a thousand candles littering multiple parts of the room, highlighting picture and vase, casting the most eye-catching shadows on the many sculptures littering the area. Beside the back wall, there was a table stocked with the most delectable treats that could be seeable with the eye; roast and stuffed turkeys and chickens littering the middle and surrounded with a sea of sweet treats and multiple types of fruit in tasteful ways and odd colours. Master and Jules could be seen near the table, with Master playfully hanging a fuit over Jules' nose until the child simply jumped up and took a huge bite out of it, leaving himself hanging like a dog on a chew toy before dropping with a chunk of sweet apple in his mouth. Master simply chuckled and ruffled the grinning Jules' fringe, looking much happier than he seemed on the boat to the castle. Dewitt and Eliza were nearby, discussing something that was inadudiable over the course of the music.

On the other side of the room, there was a large stage, the length of the room and a little bit higher than Jules. On it stood a large, complicated machine made from various boxes and curves, sheet metal and bolts holding the thing together and having a rather large set of telsa coils, about four or five littering a small area, small amounts of bright blue electricity streaming between them at random intervals. On the stage also was a long metal stick with a black reciever stuck on the end (a microphone) and a small table with a grammophone that was playing 1920's music. Littered around the rest of the room was multiple other party-goers, dressed in the finest tuxedoes and cocktail dresses and dancing slowly and methodicly to the music.

"Nice party," William mused, "You really need to outdo yourself every party, huh?"

"Well..." Charles said with a smug grin on his muzzle, "I don't wanna brag. That would be rather inpolite. As the technology me and my wife conjure up become more advanced, so must the parties be able to increase in grandness. I know we'll falter one day, but not TO-day. Get my drift?"

"...Kinda."

"Oh, well I did say that you'll see what makes us tick and what keeps us going. And..." Charles checked the watch on his robotic wrist, "That's about now."

Charles fiddled with the watch and pointed it towards Eliza. Eliza's face peered over the crowd and then to her own watch, then back to her husband. She smiled in a strange way and slowly walked towards the stage. Once upon it, she signalled to Master, who was still at the back. He noticed and slowly carried the somewhat sluggish Jules over to William and put him in his arms, then hobbled towards the stage too.

"And what'll be this new sort of...thing?" William asked.

Charles grinned again, "Prepare to lose your excrement."

Charles climbed onto the stage just as Eliza switched off the grammophone and activated the micro one, "Right, testing!" she called out, her voice echoing around the chamber. The group below stopped dancing and stared at the microphone, "Right...ahem, hello...to the yearly Prower Knight Castle party. I hope you've been enjoying yourselves so far, but now I must turn your attention to the reveal of this year. And this time, I will pass the honour of such a thing over to our favourite; Master!"

"Thank you, Eliza," Master said timidly, stepping up to the microphone, "Now then, those among this group today have noticed I have appeared at the numerous parties, year after year after year, without may have asked yourself why when I don't do much and come from a country that is about to fall from grace...you see, there's a reason for that. I...am from the future."

A large gasp spread around the room from numerous surprised party-goers, mixed with cries of shock and confusion which would only come from the mind of a 1920's gentleman. William's mind was also in this state, shouting various times inside his head, repeating "I knew it! I KNEW it! I knew IT!"

"Indeed!" Master said, his voice now full of pride and glee, "I was the one that gave all the special ideas for the tech to these two wonderful foxes. THEY made the devices, I showed them the devices from the future. You can behold all the miracles (and some of the more crappier parts) of the 2010's. Let me put it this way, it's very different. Obviously. But even then, I wouldn't be able to actually be here and supply the machines without special tech to transport it. I could digitize it, but that would take weeks and there are moral problems...I'll explain later."

"And it was here that out friendship started," Charles suddenly spoke up, "We both needed to find a way to get them here, and fast. And that's when Master told me of this special substance all around us in the air..."

"Basically, it's unnamed for now," Master noted, "BUT...one thing I know is that it keeps a sort of...record of everything ever put there. Every year, every day, every hour, every SECOND, it remembers it all. Hell, it's even able to co-exist between universes! Tap into the right frequency of this power and you're able to open portals not only to another time, but also another WORLD."

"The other world thing, however..." Eliza shrugged, "Is somewhat unstable. We can't keep the portal up and running with 1920's power. It just isn't enough juice. But the records say SOMEONE was able to do so, so it IS possible, just not now."

"Instead, we'll just show you the other use for it," Charles said, approaching the machine mentioned before, "And with THIS little number, it should be rather easy. Right, Master Guy, start it up!"

"With pleasure!" came Master's reply, hands rubbing in excitment. There was a sudden burst of energy in the once before tired and somber dark brown hedgehog, suddenly climbing onto the top of the device with the utmost of speeds. He reached a control panel stuck just out of view on the top of the machine and mashed random buttons at seemingly erratic paces. The machine then started to hum and light up with the brightest of devillishy red glows, grey streaks of electricty bouncing around the telsa coils. Master put on a pair of heavy duty goggles and headphones, before giving a thumbs up to the Prowers, who did similar.

"Better cover your ears, people!" Charles yelled over the infernal racket created by the device, "This is gonna get LOUD!"

Jules started to cling to William tighter than before, a small whimper starting to leak from his throat. William also clung tighter to his son as the humming increased in pitch and volume. Charles scooted over to the lower console and too mashed buttons with wild abandon, spraying more and more electricity around the various coils and causing the room to heat to odd temperatures. As the wine boiled like bottled volcanic springs, the electricy around the coils suddenly crossed and made a sort of circle with the result. This cause a loud clap of thunder, then a bang of exploding energy before another ear-splitting noise. With that noise, however, came the spawning of a large energy-window, basking all before it in it's grey light, causing young Jules to dig his head further into his father's chest in fear.

"IT'S WORKING!" Master yelled over the inferno, his voice now quick and rather energetic, "WOOOO! Say hello to the future, ladies and gentlemen!"

William's eyes slowly adjusted to the extreme light levels just as the light itself began to die down, the machine's smoking form slowly ceasing it's whirrs and bangs, with only a low hum keeping the portal alive. The portal itself showed the exact hallway that he and Charles were walking down at the start of this chapter, but so much was changed you wouldn't think that at first. The strange mural of the double-tailed fox with the tablet remained, but the rest of the hallway was in a small amount of ruin, stuck in a limbo of both the 1920's and the long distant future of cobwebs and faded art.

William was the first to speak up, "It...it doesn't look any different!"

"Of course not!" Master said, "This place is somewhat...untouched in 2013. Because that's exactly what this is. July the 5th, 2013 to be exact. Around..." he quickly scooted over to the lower control panel Charles had bashed with mechanical strength, "About 5:15PM."

"Wait, look!" came the sudden voice of one of the women in the crowd, pointing a velvet sleeved arm at the portal, "People!"

Master's face suddenly brought on a look of befuddlement and looked upon the portal with focused, detailing eyes. The slight sound of him muttering under his own breath could be heard, very faintly and sounding like "This can't be right. This place is left desolate for 70 years..." he then stood up and simply said "Oh."

Indeed, in the portal were two figures. Both were male with somewhat similar features, being long spindly arms and legs, bushy quills of varying lengths and only gloves and shoes to their beings. One was orange and a wolf, sporting a cape and standing taller than the other, who was blue with a lavender neckband, their colours still seeable against the washed out grey bleakness of the hallway. Willam's mind once more went into a confusion panic at the sight of the blue hedgehog, who looked almost like him and little Jules, minus the coloured fringe at the front.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that!" Master said, facing the crowd again with uncertainty, "Uh...would William Needlemouse and Dewitt Highcastle please make their way to the front?"

William looked nervously at Jules, who had now stopped digging into his father's chest and was looking at the figures too, and then to Dewitt, who simply shrugged and began making his way to the front. Willaim did also, handing Jules to Master and then getting up onto the stage. Master continued to hold Jules as the group inspected the portal.

"Oh yes, this is 2013..." Master said, gleaming with shocked happiness, "Dewitt, William...these two are Lowell Highcastle and Sonic Needlemouse. Your grandsons."

William quickly lost the ability to utter even a surprised squeak, the sheer concept of what was happening leaving his voice lost in the midst of the mindscrew vortex this portal was giving off. Trembelling, he slowly tapped on the portal, making echoing sounds almost like tapping on a glass window. The two beings became alerted at this and rushed to the portal too. The wolf was showing a complete stoic face, looking upon the two with simple confusment, casting glances at Master and then at Dewitt.

"Master!" the wolf finally said, "What've you done NOW?"

"Oh, two way communication, that's new!" Master gleamed some more, "Lowell, Sonic. Meet your grandfathers in their 1920's prime! William Needlemouse and Dewitt Highcastle. And THIS little guy..." he hoised Jules up to the portal's window, "Jules Needlemouse. Your father in training pants."

Jules simply smiled and waved. The blue hedgehog inched towards the portal, getting a closer look at Jules and William. He then smiled and stepped back too. The wolf also stepped back, sitting down with crossed legs and the same look of confusion spreading across his face.

"That reminds me," the wolf said, "I think I found one of your lollipops, Jules.

William looked confused, "Jules took some lollipops with him?"

"Yes. Of course they're ruined from age, soured and suger scarred, but yours are on the south balcony if you still want them. They're still wrapped in the packet so you should be okay."

"Thanks, !" Jules said out happily. He gave Master another short hug and then lept away, sprinting down the hallway at full speed and bursting through the doors like paper. The wolf smirked.

"Well, the kid is fast. You're just like him, Sonic. Well, except that you haven't got shot through the eye."

William's eyesa widened in shock, "Wait, WHAT?"

"Oh, uh...probably shouldn't have said that...Master, the reception's starting to fade."

"Oh dear, we seem to be over-doing the power supply," Charles sighed, checking on the nearby moniters, "We better shut her down now."

"So you're my grandson, huh?" Dewitt asked the wolf, "Not a bad-looking guy."

"You ahould wait until you see him as a child," the blue hedgehog cooed, "He's so embrassingly adorable."

The wolf blushed a very deep red in response, "Dammit! I told you never to look through my family album!"

"Wait, one last thing!" Dewitt called out, "I'm not married yet! How do you come around?"

"I can't tell you!" the wolf reminded, "Paradoxes are very dangerous things! Trust me, Archie-Sonic agrees with me and he's a dumbarse! And, truth be told...I'm not sure."

There was a sudden flash as the portal suddenly became all fuzzy and almost cut off. The hedgehog and wolf sighed.

"Looks like we've gotta go!" the hedgehog said, "Well, it's been short. But it's also been FUN!"

"We'll see you in about three decades," the wolf said too, "Around the 1960's. 'Cause THAT'S gonna be fun...maybe."

At last, the portal gave one final sputter and vanished in a shining grey light, leaving only two more echoing remarks:

"Hey Lowell, if our parents are in their 40's and they're currently in their 20's in 1922...how does that make sense and why're WE in our teenage years?"

"*sigh* Master never did give a shit for cannonicity. As long as it involves guns somehow."

...And then finally cut off, bringing the once virant and noise-polluted room to an utter standstill. As William and Dewitt tried to recover from this event, the crowd was as silent and still as the most remote of graveyards. The faces stuck in the crowd couldn't make a single sound between them, nor move an inch or breath a...breath. They just couldn't come to terms with what they had just seen. Some of the women even fainted from the shock. Catious and somewhat nervous, Master slowly stepped up to the microphone. His face was twisted into a mixture of anticipation and fear and his words were once more stuttered and timid.

"...A-Any questions?"

From this question alone, the crowd below him began to swarm around the stage, barking multiple questions strewn from confusion and fear at what the machine could do. Master simply shrugged and slowly made his way to the crowd below to answer them.

"How did you even come across this sort of stuff?!" William asked on the way, "Why're you showing us this?"

"Because it's fun," Master said back, "And now you know who I am. Master, god of Universe 112233CHARLIE and time travel extraordinare! And if you think it's great now..." he quickly smirked, "Wait 'till I tell Ken Levine!"

**PROWER CASTLE - Master Bedroom bathing quarters **

**Off the coast of Mobius Alpha **

**July 5th 2013, 9:33PM **

**Oliver Maruice "Sonic The Hedgehog" Needlemouse, Lowell Theo Highcastle II, Kathrine Lowhouse and Blaze "Frost" Cattington**

Lowell sighed to himself as he washed his murky face with the fresh water. It had been one hell of a long day. From the very start of the adventure on the docks to the meeting of the ghost, from the awkward lunch to unpacking the suitcases for one long month of living in a haunted castle-all while avoiding that damn ghost, whoever she was.

It was at this time that Lowell could turn to the full-length mirror on the other side of the bedroom and take a good look at himself. As said before he was a wolf, about 1 foot taller than Sonic, with rather dirty and unkept orange fur, his hair styled in hedgehog-esque spikes with black werehog-tips, rather like the emo fringe spread across his bad eye. His eyes were a dark, crimson red to go with the vampire thing and connected to a furry muzzle, it's fur darker in colour than typical Sonic character skin and a large fang poking out of his mouth. His belly spot was also furry and had a large red scab on the right side where his heart used to be, slightly below a large black coller witha red gem stuck in the centre. His cape, a dark one with yellow insides, connected to that and reached his shoes, one blue with green circles and one green with blue circles while both with black socks and soles. He wore grey fabric fingerless gloves and had knee and elbow pads along with a belt stuffed with various flash grenades. A large wolf tail lightly brushed the back of his legs and then wove a little in the air, covered in the same black markings as his "hair".

The musing over his apperance over, he shuffled away from the bathing chamber and stumbled towards the bed, tired and thus disorientated. He then sighed sadly clambered into his lonely bed. Sonic had made sure that their girlfriends got seperate rooms for...some reason, he never specified. This left Lowell in his own room; alone, sober and somewhat paranoid of the ghost that could sneak up on him while asleep.

Lowell darted his eyes across the room to the end of his bed. A fully loaded Mossberg 500, adorned with an olive paintjob, a magazine instead of a tube and a scope, was lying by the end. So just in case the ghost wanted to get into his dreams, which typically consisted of Kathrine and a bathtub of chocolate pudding (the things the youth of today think of...), he could just grab the shotgun with two quick shots. Or at least that would be the idea.

Unfortuently, Sonic had placed his bedroom at the end of one long corridor and the bathing room only contained a bath and a sink, but no (functioning) toilet. The only working one was at the OTHER end of the corridor. Where he was most vunerable.

And he had to go.

Lowell sighed at Sonic's obviously cruel joke and kicked the sheets away, shuffeling towards the door with the M500 in hand. With trembelling fingers, he slowly grasped the doorknob and twisted it with the pace of a snail, opening it with an unearthly creak. From there, he stepped out from the warm light of his room into the dark, ghost-filled gloom, sealing his fate by the door to his own room slamming shut behind him. He dug out the torch he kept in one of the many pockets inside his cape and fumbled with the on switch. The beam of light shot down the corridor, casting many beams of it towards the odd paintings that dotted the walls, all revolving around the two-tailed foxes with their cog-filled tech looking high and mighty over the one-tailed folk below them. Lowell sneered at such a disgraceful approach to boasting and continued his journey to the toilet, which was long, cold and harrowing. Every single time he expected the ghost to appear from the ether to take his life, he'd suddenly remember that- being undead- he didn't have one and the ghost was nowhere to be seen.

Surprisingly, he managed to reach the bathroom intact (or as intact as you can get after an event that tears out your heart and gives you aichmophobia). Once inside, he locked the door, put another set of drawers behind the door for good measure, put the shotgun to the side of the sink and did his needed buisness. He then washed his hands and stepped outside once more, shotgun in hand and feeling a tad more confident.

"Well..." Lowell mused to himself slowly, "At least there's been no ghost."

"I know!" came that eerie voice again, "You were so close!"

The giggle spread throughut the room, causing Lowell to pump the shotgun in a reflex action and jab it's barrel in the vauge direction of the voice. He could feel his skin go colder than it normally did and, even worse, he could hear him self breathing. Hellbloods never needed to breath, but when they did...

Well, they were incredibly scared. And so was Lowell.

There was another gust of wind and the pink mists once more began to pile up and circle around Lowell's posistion. This time, however, the mists were slowly starting to form a body of some kind. A small, female body that looked vaugly familiar. Of a pink hedgehog. A sharp pang started to form in the back of the wolf's mind. Lowell couldn't help it. He had been trained to hate the form he was seeing with a passion. Well, and the fact his scared mind could become suddenly become irrational. He could feel his finger tighten on the trigger and there wasn't much he could do about it. It was then, and only then, he could feel cold, slimy fingers reach out and touch his shoulder with a giggle. He could feel his body twisting almost uncontrollably and aiming at the ghostly figure, squeezing the trigger and firing a shot in the ghost's general direction. The buckshot passed through the figure and such figure seemed to react, cowering in shock and fear, making a general shot in the dark. The ghost set herself up again, looking awkwardly disturbed from the shot, almost as if it set off something in her mind.

The figure's hands began to tremble from what seemed to be anger, her face scrunching into one that showed only the purest of rages. Her once formed body began to fade in a single pinkish colour, yet still in the shape of the hedgehog he rememberd to well. Then the figure rose up and let out a shriek at the top of her specteral lungs.

"ANCESTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!" she wailed, causing lightning to strike Lowell's posistion, "I KNEW IT! I KNEW ALL OF IT! IT WAS YOU! YOU AND YOUR MASTER! YOU KILLED ME! YOU SUBJECTED ME TO AN ETERNITY OF SUFFERING AND HEARTBREAK! NOW PREPARE TO SUFFER **AS I HAVE SUFFERED!**"

More lightning stiked the ground and Lowell could feel every synapse in his brain scream at him to run as fast as he could possibly run, which was quite slow oweing to the nerf so he wasn't seen as another Gary Stu OC. See, that's what peer pressure does to you. Anyway, Lowell let out a bloodcurdeling scream and sprinted back down the hallway towards his room, his movements paniked and shuffled, his footsteps almost softened into melody from the shrieking of the ghost. The gun was held high and fired repeatedly at the raging thing, but every shot fired was a shot missed by the ghost. It wasn't long before Lowell hit a wall and slowly slid down to the floor. The ghost continued her assualt, slowly and yet ever so surely. He raised the shotgun one last time...and heard a click. It was only then that he remembered the shot he had wasted and the gun was soon slapped out of his hands. The ghost shrieked again and was then suddenly...stopped via a hand on her shoulder. Kathrine's hand, more specifically. The ghost suddenly calmed and sank through the floor, muttering "What did I do wrong? ...Did I over-react again?"

"Wow, what's with all the noise?" asked a very tired Sonic, watching Kathrine breath a sigh of releif, "The fastest thing alive needs his handsome sleep!"

"Yes, but the CAMPEST thing alive doesn't," Kathrine snapped back, "Something terrible caused the ghost to attack Lowell. I heard a few gunshots and screams and next thing I know she was about to turn HIM into a ghost too. Poor guy...scared of ghosts and yet you bring him to a haunted castle? New low, Sonic. NEW LOW!"

"Hey, it's not as if it was MY fault it's haunted..." Sonic began to argue, but soon trailed off. Lowell had caught his attention, now a sobbing lump vaugly in the fetal posistion, strained breathing hearable between those sobs, "Wow...never seen him like this before. Better get my camara, I'll probably never see this again!"

Kathrine grabbed Sonic by the scuff of Sonic's neck as he began to make his exit, being pulled back to Kathrine's own side. From there, she pulled him close by his chest skin, "Now then, I want you to get all his stuff and move it into my room. Tomorrow, we shall sort this out FOR GOOD! NOW GET MOVING!"

Sonic did as he was told and was quickly gone. Kathrine crept closer to Lowell and managed to pry away his arms long enough to hug him, stroaking his "quills" slowly.

"All he did was accidently shoot her..." Kathrine thought to herself, "In this universe, that's a typical hello. What happened to that ghost? And why did she look so much like...Amy Rose?"


	4. Chapter 4: Ghost Buddies

**Prower's Castle-Corridor 23B **

**Knight Island, American coast **

**OCTOBER 23RD 1922 8:20PM **

**Jules Needlemouse**

"Right, well that's the toilet tent...where do we sleep?"

"OH? Oh hahaha(!) Oh look out everybody, I'm about to blow my trousers off at Eddie's sarcasm(!)"

"What, you mean THAT'S the whole tent?"

"Eddie...this isn't just a tent! This is a WorldRanger StormBuster 4! You could go anywhere in that!"

"Yeah, and we probably will as soon as the breeze lets up."

"Hey hey, don't knock it! You'll be glad of this when the bomb drops!"

"Wot?! You think_ THAT'S_ gonna withstand a 20-Megaton nuclear blast?!"

"Well, YOU'LL be sleeping in it tonight, so we'll find out, won't we?"

Jules was not able to understand the concept of what he was seeing and hearing, but the sound of roaring laughter coming from the group seemed to signal to him that it was a rather funny concept to those who COULD. After finally managing to answer the almost endless questions of the mob surrounding him, Master had managed to keep the close-to-rioting mob docile with what he called Television. It was, at it's most basic, a large plastic box with a glass screen on it. And from this wonderous invention came something like a miracle to the young hedgehog's brain; two men in a field bickering, one hairy and pathetic, one bald and violent, on the screen as if they were inside the "Television" itself. Almost every man and woman were sitting in front of the thing, staring deep into the glass screen, completly mesmerized by the entire soncept they could see before them. Jules, however, had his mind set on a different task at hand, namely his lollipops. He remembered that he and Master had rushed ahead while William was talking to Charles and had been playing with the lollipops on a balcony somewhere. Having been reminded where they were, Jules was setting out to find them. He passed his father on the way, seeing that William has failed to understand what had happened that night and was simply drinking heavily to try to cope with it. Master was sitting next to him, his expression one of annoyance and saying "Well, I'M driving him home tonight..." from his face alone. Dewitt was talking with Charles, he too trying to cope with what exactly was happening.

Jules ignored them and started his way towards the balcony where his sweets were kept. While Master had carried him to the balcony himself, Jules still remembered the way and thusly could easily retrace his steps. Far from the bright party, the corridors of the rest of the castle were dark and barren, showing cobwebs and odd slimy walls, the lighting dim and unsetteling, not helped by Jules' slight fear of the dark. Inside his small, developing mind, the darkest creatures of the deepest pits of nightmares were waiting just out of reach, glaring at him with their bright yellow eyes and stained teeth, their tounges slavering and salivating inside their tombstone-esque fang filled mouths. It began to creep out little Jules even more from the lack of true noise, the murmering of the "television" now just a murmer in the distance and only the crackle of the torches and the smooth thumps of his own footsteps close to hand. For a second, he swore he could see one of the monsters edging in the corner of the room, eyes trained on him as if the monster could jump out at any second and slay him, to rip off his limbs and eat them as he slowly watched and bled out, but chose not to so he could catch him at the most poor timing.

Eventually, paranoia and juvanile fear completly overtook Jules' mind and he started to run. He broke out into a sprint, hearing the vicous monsters on his tail and seeing their deep, hairy forms increase in size from the shadows behind him. The grasping, blood-stained claw of one of the monsters grabbed Jules by his leg, almost tripping him up, but Jules violently kicked the monster away and sprinted with all his speed for the nearest door. With a terrorfied shriek, he rammed through the door and fell to the floor, skidding to a stop near a wall, that wall connected to a balcony overlooking the sea. Jules, scared out of his mind, slowly dragged himself to his feet, looking out over the balcony overlooking the dark, moonlit night, tears streaming down his eyes and a few sobs escaping his throat every now and again.

"H-Hello?" came a sudden female voice out of the corner of Jules' vision, "Are you okay there?"

Jules quickly and suddenly turned his head to the left to see who was there. Who was there was a pink female hedgehog, her quills arched down like a bobcut and a three-part fringe covering one of her eyes. Her eyes were a radaint, glowing green with ruby red lipstick and her gold ring bracelets sparkled in the moonlight. She was dressed in a beautiful bright red ball gown, covered in creases and roses, with one placed in her quills and another around a band on her stomach, to contemplate her heeled shoes, also a bright ruby red. All in all, she looked rather pretty (not a factor to Jules, of course), but to Jules something looked...off about her. Closer inspection revealed a horrifying amount of scars and marks on her face and legs, notably a large scar across her face and some marks on her ankles that seemed to indicate a sort of cloth wrap was once tied tightly around her legs. Her face was pained and fragile, her skin soft, yet hardened with the aforementioned bruises and cuts.

"Who're you?" Jules asked out of fear.

"I..." the figure seemed to pause over her words, then sighed wearily, "Is anyone following you?"

"Just...the monsters..." Jules sniffled, tears slowly welling in his eyes.

"Monsters..." the woman said, sighing again, "I'd say monsters don't exist, but to say that...what with I'VE been through...it just wouldn't sit well. At least you're not with company."

Jules was understandably creeped out by this, "Why? You're not gonna do...anything to me or something?"

"Oh, NO..." the woman sobbed, "I've seen enough to turn me away from that for the rest of my life, trust me. I'm Amelia, by the way."

Jules' mind suddenly became a wash with multiple, still-forming memories of the past hour. The tears, the questions, the ruckus that followed, he even got a snippet of the files William had in his suitcase while he was drinking. This was the Amelia that William and Dewitt were tasked to find and bring to safety. Jules quickly become confused from this, his small, juvenile mind unable to understand why they wanted her. He slowly approached Amelia and climbed up onto her lap. Amelia looked somewhat confused in response, but let him lie there, holding a packet of round, red lollipops in her hand.

"Amelia?" Jules asked at last, quietly fearing an enraged response from the woman, "Are you the one dad is looking for?"

"Your dad?" Amelia asked.

"Y-Yeah! He came looking for someone. She looks pretty," Jules said back, "Like this!"

Amelia looked at the smart child, taking the photo and list he had suddenly had in his hands. She studied the picture, then the list. The picture was an exact replica of one that was taken of her during a time she'd rather forget and showed her in full, albeit in a slightly different outfit. The list read out her name, her age, some specifications and one last detail that made tears well in her eyes from looking at it. But what clinched it for her to start crying a bit was the signatures present on the bottom of the page:

"Mr William Needlemouse, I trust to inform you that, should you fail you comply with rescuing the girl, the antidote for your wife will not be delivered. So DO IT. Signed, Perry "Master" Martin and Delago Needlemouse."

This caused Amelia to sob a bit, throwing the papers to the floor and sputtering "Oh...so they HAVE come for me..." with a wavering, wobbly voice.

Jules was confused and upset he had made this woman, whoever she was, cry. After opening and eating one of his lollipops, he tugged on Ameila's dress and shyly asked, "W-What do you mean?"

"You want the truth, child?" Amelia sobbed, "Fine. That name is a fake. My name is not Amelia Roseane. It's Amy Rose. I'm from another dimension."

Once more, Jules' mind flashed back to Master and the Prowers opening the Tear, what they said about universal travel, and said "So...you're the one they mentioned who managed to move from...here...to...there?", his lack of jargon experience faltering him.

"From my universe to yours? Yes, that's me. I came here to...escape my life. Having been captured in a raid, I ended up in the care of my dearest Sonic...your own son, I believe. But something was wrong with him. He felt so...corrupted. So...far gone. His mind had been warped beyond what it was, he was a shadow of what he was supposed to be...I mean...look at me!"

Jules took another look at Amy's body. Her scars and bruises didn't look self-inflicted or accidental, even to the young tot who couldn't write or even chew his foot properly. The scars looked like bite wounds and slashes with a knife, the bruises inflicted from lack of blood and pipe wrenches. There was even a long, dark purple bruise along her muzzle in a faint line, with a round area around her lips.

"The abuse, the beatings, the...bondage. He just went haywire! And he's not finished, he says! What's he gonna do, pull off my arms? Reduce my legs to stumps? And with every time he attached a ball gag to me and almost drowned me, I could swear that he was gaining...sexual pleasure...OH GOD!"

Once more, Amy lapsed into a sobbing fit, unaware of what she had told that young child. She just hugged the child within an inch of it's life, finding comfort in his small body and cute appearance. Unbeknownst to her, Master had slowly followed Jules and was now watching the two in their emotional hug, a look of sadness and regret across his face. He sighed, staring at the floor and stumbling to the nearby bathroom, running the water and splashing it on his face. He stared at the face in the mirror, a face that had seen the worries of the world and had done some bad stuff in his life. He sighed and leaned against the mirror, before a sudden ringing got his attention. He looked down to his belt and saw his Multi-Versal Communicator, ringing within an inch of it's life. Master picked it up and pressed the "Call" button, bringing it up to his face.

"I know what you're calling for, you know..." he sighed, his voice once again thick with depression and disgust, "And, you know, I'm having second thoughts on your 'promise'..."

"I can detect the sarcasm in your voice..." came the hissing, unearthly voice on the other end of the device, "You think I'll just resume my sexual pleasures with Amy-poo, huh? Well, I assure you I'm not. I'm just an honest hedgehog trying to make an honest living...enjoying the company of my dearest."

"Yeah, as long as you've got a ball gag, some rope and a tissue!" Master barked back, his voice now saturated with anger, "I've made up my mind. You won't have Amy!"

"Wrong," the voice hissed, "I've still got William. As long as his wife's future resides in my grasp, he'll do ANYTHING I say. And I shall say also, Mrs. Needlemouse has been a VERY good replacement for Amy in the meantime..."

"Urgh, you're an animal!" Master bellowed, "Sod off, Delago! I'll make sure Amy'll never enter your semen-stained claws!"

"You can make her run..." Delago hissed in anger, "But you CAN'T hide her from me FOREVER!"

With that, the phone disconnected with a click. Master's face molded into a grimace again and, with the speed of a raging panther, dug straight into his pocket. Upon pulling it out again, there was a large bore pistol in his hands, with a two-tone slide and tactical rail over the barrel. The words "Desert Eagle" were engraved on the side. Master grabbed the slide and racked it back with a sharp click and then kicked open the door with the gun in hand. He stormed down the hallway, erraticly and indefatigable, towards the main room.

"I need to solve this one problem at a time. No-one orders a GOD what to do."

**PROWER CASTLE - Dining Room **

**Off the coast of Mobius Alpha **

**July 9th 2013, 12:33PM **

**Oliver Maruice "Sonic The Hedgehog" Needlemouse, Lowell Theo Highcastle II, Kathrine Lowhouse and Blaze "Frost" Cattington**

"Okay...we're ready. Bring them in."

With the now signature creak of the old, rusty locks, the doors on either side of the dining room swung open. Kathrine was situated at one of the doors, Lowell's shotgun in hand, while Frost was situated at the other end. Lowell was paraded into the room, pushed forward by Sonic, and sat down at the tableside that had the bottle of Generic Carbonated Beverage at the side. The other side was soon surrounded by the pink wind and the outline of the Amy-Ghost soon faded into existence, once again dotted with the high-pitched and cute giggling. Lowell began breathing heavily, but Kathrine and her deep-feeling back rubs calmed him down. Sonic closed both doors and then walked off hand in hand with Frost, most probably to make out in peace.

And from there, the room was silent, bar the cold coastal winds blowing against the windows, chocking the natural movement of the waters outside. From there, the room was empty bar the three now sitting at the table. All three were just staring at each other across the table, their expressions still and emotionless, bodies frozen in tension and waiting for one of them to speak. Lowell was shivering slightly, with Kathrine sitting next to him and rubbing her cheeks into his arm. The Amy-Ghost, on the other side of the table, had now faded again into a detailed being of pure light pink energy, her white smile beaming through her aura and looking rather cute while doing it; a far cry from what she was like all those years ago with Jules.

"So...you're really Amy Rose?" Kathrine asked at last, a small squeak escaping her throat.

"...Yes." The Amy-Ghost said at last, sounding calm and meditated, "It has been so long since I've seen a Sonic that once loved me like your own. But...if he wants to love that cat woman, I don't mind. I've kinda gone off him after all these years."

"Well, we've...managed to get you here because..." Kathrine said afterwards, "There's been a misunderstanding. For the past few days, you've been planting things around the house, flying into rages, messages of death on the bathroom mirrors, that sort of thing. We're here today to help you and Lowell become friends."

"Lowell?" Amy-Ghost asked, "The orange wolf?"

"Yes. You scared him half to death, relatively speaking, a few nights ago. And you keep going on and on about us helping you seek redemption and all that."

"But...b-before we can help you," Lowell stuttered, "We need to now what's plaguing you."

"Ahh..." The Amy-Ghost sighed, laying back, "That's when things get a little sketchy."

"How so?"

"I...I don't want to tell you. Trust me, it's awful."

"Hmmm..." Kathrine mused, "Well, let's start at the bottom. You said you did not love your Sonic. Now, as far as Amies go, you're a black sheep. Along with Thorn. And Ms. Rose. And Rebirth...well okay, you're not exactly a black sheep, but still. Anything you'd like to say about that?"

"I..." Amy-Ghost started to say, her shifting eyes showing she was trying to change the subject, "I think I do. It's something to do with my past and...this figure. This young figure from the future. In a hoodie and with a mug of glowing purple drink."

"Glowing Purple Drink?" Lowell said, "Sounds like Master's learning drugs! Do you have a memory of a 'Master'? That name ring a bell?"

Amy-Ghost could feel anger well up inside of her at the name of that awful waste of energy, as well as hear a small angry grunt escape her throat, but quickly calmed down when she saw Lowell start to edge back in his seat. She cleared her throat and rested her head on her arms, "Y-Yeah...him. The guy who made my life a misery. Not that he had any choice."

"Good, good, we're off to a good start," Kathrine started smiling and slowly rubbing Lowell's tail which had landed in her lap, "Now then, can you tell us how you died?"

Amy-Ghost knew deep down that the true events had been long lost to time and her ever budding anger and hatred for Master, but she nevertheless tried hard to remember what she could. She slowly stuttered out a few words while entranced in her own deep, dark and foreboding thoughts, "Uh...i-it was years ago. 1920. I tried to escape my own version of Sonic, who had...been corrupted from something. All these horrible things he used to do to me...but I can't remember them that well. Maybe it's for the best. All I remember to this day is being held at gunpoint by three people, one of their guns being much bigger than the rest. Then...I remember falling...falling forever, it seemed...before I neared the ground and the Grim Reaper catched me in his arms."

"So...you just remember falling?" Kathrine asked. Amy-Ghost nodded sadly, her once bright pink aura now fading and dulled from the power of her emotions.

"It's all I remember. When I woke up as a ghost, I didn't even know I was dead at first. Just a sort of...lack of feeling and sense, thinking I no longer existed and I felt a limbo state of okay and terrible, eternally confused."

"Sounds like Thorn after a good night's drinking," Kathrine snarked, "But never mind that; then what?"

"After I figured all that out and got myself in order, I simply waited around for many years, keeping the inside of the castle clean. I knew the ancestors of the men who killed me would return because I knew about those 'tears' in the multiverse. It's how I got here. And every night, when I fell asleep, I had that same dream of that one night. Falling...falling for the entire dream...I started playing cards in the dreams in the end."

Kathrine's face then lit up like a lightbulb, "I've got something!" Kathrine turned to Lowell, "Lowell, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That we've been ripping off Timelock House and should really apologize?"

"...Yes, that," Kathine sighed, "And the fact that something doesn't add up. Confused or not, ghosts don't need sleep. They're already asleep, somewhat. Which makes me think that maybe somebody is forcing her asleep at night. Someone is maybe giving her another chance at this life thing. Someone may be ashamed of Ghost-Amy's existence but yet still has to help and has thus compromised."

"You're point?" Asked the now slightly-annoyed Ghost-Amy.

"Someone HAS been living here, undetected and undeterred. Maybe they destroyed the records or prevented them from being properly updated to avoid giving themselves away. Amy-Ghost...what should I actually call you?"

"You could call me Spectre."

"I would've gone with Spirit, but someone else has that," Kathrine shrugged daintily, "Anyway, Spectre, is there anything you've noticed that's odd to you?"

"Well, there IS this small hut in the front garden, "Spectre noted, "It's really small and strange, but there are odd bleeps and bloops and flashing lights. And I see people moving inside. A small shadow or something every now and again."

"Well then, there's our answer," Kathrine said, "We better check it out!"

"But what about the ghost thing? Making me okay with the things before they murder me?" Lowell asked fearfully.

"...I'm hovering right here," Spectre said, annoyed.

"...Sorry."

"Well, we'll just have to do later. We've got a mystery to chase!" Kathrine said energetically, her eyes flashing quickly with a small white gleam. With that, she was up and sprinted out of the room.

"...Your girlfriend seems to have ADHD or something, it seems..." Spectre said sheepishly.

"Nah, she's a brilliant lass," Lowell assured, slowly gaining confidence in his voice, "It's just that she gets a little excited over adventures. She got her first taste when that other universe got invaded by Dark Gaia creatures (again) and she ended up in the crossfire. Became a Werehog and everything. Or is it wolfhog? Can't remember."

"I think I remember that too," Spectre giggled, "And I THINK it's supposed to be Wolfhog. Anyway, enough about that. Now that your girlfriend isn't helping, I might as well continue this...I'm sorry I scared you half dead a few nights ago. It was just...what happened to me all those years ago flashed before me when that shot passed through me...it's not just something you can easily forget, is it?"

"No, I'll admit that," Lowell said back, his very tone showing barefacedly he was swallowing some of his non-existent pride, "And I'm sorry I shot you in the first place. I find this world too...violent for a proper greeting. I'm sure you're well versed about that."

"Yeah. So..." Spectre held out her hand, which Lowell looked at nervously, "Friends?"

Lowell slowly edged his hand towards Spectre's, unsure if a demonic possession was supposed to come his way. Luckily, that never happened and the two slowly and quietly shook hands, Lowell finally breaking the awkward silence with a simple and confident-sounding "Friends."

"Cool. Also, I wouldn't worry about the whole 'possession' thing. I can't seem to do that for whatever reason," Spectre said quickly after the handshake ended, before quickly speaking up once more, "Oh, one more thing...could you get your Sonic to...disguise himself slightly? It's just that it's kinda hard to look at him again after all the...pain and suffering he caused me."

"Oh sure, sure," Lowell smiled, steadily gaining his confidence, "You'll never believe what our Sonic's alter-ego is. SONIC! Frost? Where've they gone now?"

Lowell rose from his chair and walked rapidly down the hallway, bashing through various doors before finally throwing open the one to the lounging area. And there, resting on a sofa adorned with cushions and pillows, were Frost and Sonic, making out furiously. Something seemed...off about Sonic, for one. For a start, he was wearing a white cotton dress, arm length gloves, fake breasts and fishnet stockings, a pair of white boots nearby. His fur was a paler blue, he was wearing make-up and a long black wig that ended around his waist. His voice also seemed higher, with a few female-like moans escaping from the kiss sounds. It took a while before either noticed the two standing at the doorway, and upon doing so they stopped dead in their tracks, then slowly turned to stare at the two with beet red muzzles. Lowell was acting indifferently, possessing the same face he did at the start of this adventure, while Spectre's jaw ran all the way to the floor. Sonic was the first to speak up, stuttering a lot and possessing the female voice they had thought she had gained.

"Hi...uh, heh heh...this's gonna take some explaining..."

**Oh, bugger me, this shouldn't have taken as long as it did. For the 3.4235 people reading this, I am dreadfully sorry.**


End file.
